wronged homeowners repossess bank

It's a fear at the back of the minds of millions — after you spend vast sums buying then personalising a house to turn it into your home, misfortune, rising rates or a single bad decision could see the bank take it back.

But for one couple, the injustice of such a move saw them turn the tables and gain a court order to repossess property of the bank that tried to foreclose on them.

So how did this "sweet justice" — to use the words of the lawyer representing the couple — come about? Well, in the same way it happens to thousands of normal homeowners — the bank made a mistake and then didn't pay for it as the costs rose.

How it happened

Back in 2009 Warren Nyerges — a retired policeman — and his wife Maureen Collier bought a house for $165,000 (£100,000) on the Golden Gates Estates development in Florida. But paid entirely in cash and so never took out a mortgage.

Sadly for them, the fact they had no debt on the property didn't stop the Bank of America initiating repossession proceedings against them in February 2010.

Of course, never having a mortgage in the first place meant their lawyer — Todd Allen — won, and proceedings were dropped.

But this wasn't a cost-free exercise for the Nyerges, resulting in more than $2,500 (£1,500) of legal fees. These, they repeatedly requested the bank compensate them for.

The fallout

The couple went to the courts to get their compensation. The courts agreed, and told the bank to pay them their due.

After another five months without their money, despite phone calls and letters, they simply took the next logical step and got a foreclosure order against the bank.

"They've ignored our calls, ignored our letters, legally this is the next step to get my clients compensated," Allen told CBS News.

The lawyer and two policemen, along with a moving van, then reported to the bank to collect desks, chairs computers and anything else of value — even the cash from the tellers' draws — to compensate the wronged couple.

And if you want to see the tables turned — you can view TV news reports of the event here.

Local reports tell us that under this pressure from the law and the media, it only took about an hour for the bank manager to produce a cheque for $5,772.88 (£3,515.11) to cover the bills the couple had built up.

"We apologise to Mr Nyerges that there was a delay in receiving the funds," the bank's written statement to the Naples News reads. "The original request went to an outside attorney who is no longer in business."

A rising concern

While this story might bring a smile to the face of people in the UK, repossession remains a real concern.

In the first three months of 2011 some 9,100 Britons lost their homes as banks repossessed them — a position as many as 40,000 people could find themselves in by the end of the year.

With some estimates putting the number of homeowners at risk if rates rise at 90% - anyone worried about their position should take action now.